Video: Mich. cop struck by car prompts pursuit

The suspect abruptly exited his car, got back in and hit the gas, despite the officer standing in front of his vehicle

By Jon Szerlag
MLive

COLUMBIA TWP., Mich. — A man stopped for speeding was taken to jail Saturday morning after police said he struck a police officer with his vehicle and, later, the police officer's car.

The 47-year-old Brooklyn man faces four felony charges from the incident, which started at 6:30 a.m. when Officer Rick Rodden went to stop the man's vehicle on Constitution Avenue near Marshall Street. The driver left his vehicle at first, went back to get his license and drove off, hitting Rodden, who was standing in front of the vehicle, according to a statement from Columbia Township Police Chief David Elwell.

Rodden "is seeking treatment from the strike by the suspect’s vehicle," according to Elwell's statement. The man was taken to the Jackson County Jail. He faces the following charges: assault with a dangerous weapon, assaulting a police officer, third-degree fleeing and eluding, and malicious destruction of police property.